


this christmas.

by porcelainsimplicity



Series: christmas stories [28]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Advent Challenge, Christmas, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17147060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainsimplicity/pseuds/porcelainsimplicity
Summary: Fireside is blazing bright,We're caroling through the nightAnd this Christmas will beA very special Christmas for meor:  it's Logan's first Christmas since waking up in the altered future and things are pretty much perfect.





	this christmas.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Scarlett_Phoenix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlett_Phoenix/gifts).



> Day 25 Prompt: Write about the perfect Christmas Day.  
> Day 25 Title Song: This Christmas – Donny Hathaway
> 
> Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a fabulous day, no matter what it is you may or may not be doing. And I want to thank everyone who has followed along with my advent challenge this year. I've had a ton of fun doing it, no matter the fact that I think hardly anyone has read these stories, and I want to just take a moment to appreciate everyone who did. These stories all put a smile on my face, no matter how much figuring all these prompts out made me want to tear out my hair at certain points.
> 
> I would not have made it through this journey without the wonderful help and support of the fabulous Scarlett. I know you're not going to get to read these till mid-January, my dear, but they're for you nonetheless.

As Logan walked down the stairs on Christmas morning, he found himself in another moment of wonder. He was in the mansion, it was full of smiling students, there were no Sentinels, and all was well in the world. Well, maybe not in the world, but in Logan's world. Logan's world was pretty much perfect nowadays and he wouldn't trade it for anything, not even for Jean's heart to belong to him instead of Scott. 

It had taken a lot on both sides to get him adjusted to the changes there and to get them adjusted to the changes in him, but he felt that they'd gotten there in the end. Things would never be the same for anyone but Logan didn't really care. Everyone was safe. That was all that mattered. Still, sometimes Logan would see someone that he'd watched die and pause, unsure of what he was seeing and wondering if he was dreaming for a brief moment. He did that the most with Jean and, though she often wanted to know why, Logan had made himself a promise to never tell anyone their fate. Well, except for Kitty. Kitty had to be told about what she'd done and therefore was the only one who knew they'd survived until the very end. He didn't want to tell people that he didn't know their fate and he wasn't about to let anyone know that they'd died.

But none of that mattered on this Christmas morning. The only thing that mattered was making sure this was the best Christmas ever. Students gave him smiles as he descended the stairs, assorted toys and other things in their hands as they made their way back to their rooms. He smiled back at them, happier than he could ever describe at the sight of their smiles, and he made his way to the big room where the Christmas tree was. He leaned up against the doorway and took in the scene before him, smiling at the sounds of a happy Christmas morning.

It had been so long since he'd heard the sounds of a happy Christmas morning.

“Logan.”

He turned to see Rogue walking towards him, smiling at the familiar sight of the white streaks in her hair. He hadn't yet asked how she'd ended up with those, hadn't yet asked if Liberty Island had happened or not, but he suspected from everything that he knew that it hadn't. “Hey kid.”

“We missed ya at the Christmas party last night,” Rogue said, coming to a stop next to him. “But I can understand why you got out of that. Stayin' up till four o'clock in the mornin' when the kids are up by six just to get everythin' ready for them is not somethin' I enjoy doin'.”

Logan looked around the room and took in how happy everyone was and he felt warmth rush through him. He would never say that he'd been a very emotional guy if that emotion was something other than anger, but ever since he'd woken up there he'd found himself overcome with emotions a lot. “I'm sorry I missed it.”

Rogue slipped a gloved hand into his and squeezed. “It's okay, Logan. I can't imagine the last time you had a Christmas like this.”

“It's definitely been awhile,” Logan admitted. “I'm not sure I could tell you how long. The years of running sort of blended together after awhile. There was never a moment to stop and celebrate anything. We only really stayed in one place when we were trying to change things. I'll never know how close the Sentinels got and I'm glad I don't.”

“We're all glad that you don't either,” Rogue said, following Logan's eyes across the room to the mistletoe. “Good lord. They're at it again?”

“Again?”

Rogue just rolled her eyes. “John's been pullin' Bobby underneath that mistletoe ever since we started settin' stuff up last night. I love the two of them to death but sometimes I wish they were still bein' blissfully ignorant of the fact that they feel the same way about each other. I never thought they'd get so damn giddy about things. It's kinda hard to be around sometimes.”

“I see.”

Rogue studied him for a moment. “They weren't like this, were they?”

“No,” Logan said, shaking his head. “They most definitely were not. At least not while I knew them. I heard some things from you over the years about before that.”

“I obviously don't know what happened, and I'm not askin' you to tell me, but I know John is pretty convinced that he died because of the way that you stare at him sometimes.”

“I don't stare at him because of that,” Logan said after a moment. “I stare at him because I'm surprised that he's here.”

“Surprised that he's here?”

“Let's just say that he left the mansion not long after I got there and leave it at that, okay?”

“Alright,” Rogue said. “But maybe not stare at him as much? It unnerves him.”

“I'll try to do that.”

Rogue glanced over at the clock before turning back to Logan. “You're lucky that you weren't down here when the children got up.”

Logan laughed. “They were that bad?”

“Don't you remember Christmases from before?”

“Weren't exactly many of them and the ones that were I wasn't that involved in. I didn't spend all my time here like I apparently do now.”

“You know that no one is keepin' you here, right? Because if you're wantin' to leave then you can.”

Logan shook his head. “No, I don't want to leave. I worked too hard to get this place back to this. I don't want to leave it. At least not for awhile. It's still somewhat hard to be here though.”

“I'm sure it is,” Rogue said, glancing at the clock again. “I can't even imagine what this place was like the last time you were in it.”

Logan took a sharp breath. “I was here the night the Sentinels came. And that's all I'd like to say about that.”

Rogue swallowed hard. “I'll never make you mention it again.”

“Thank you,” Logan said softly. “You seem to understand that more than some of the others.”

“They're just curious about this life that they lived that they know nothin' about,” Rogue said. “And you can't exactly blame them for that. I'd love to know what I got up to but I'm not gonna make you say somethin' you don't want to.”

“You were very attached to me,” Logan said after a moment. “We came across each other by chance and then we both ended up at the mansion together. I helped save you from something horrible and you were just attached to me. You weren't scared of me and I wasn't scared of you when a lot of people were scared of both of us. It was a good friendship.”

Rogue grinned at that. “I can't even imagine what was so horrible I'd need savin' from but I'm glad you were there for me. And I'm pretty attached to you here too so that part's the same. The rest of it though? Not so much.”

“I kind of figured that,” Logan said, taking a deep breath. “The horrible thing was how you got those white stripes in your hair. I don't know how you got them here.”

“Really? Wow. Here they just sort of happened. That part of my hair just started turnin' white. Professor says it's part of my mutation. I like it though. It makes me stand out.”

“You stand out in so many ways, Rogue,” Logan said, smiling at her. “And you have no idea how glad I am to see you happy.”

“She'll be happier once Remy gets here!” John called out, making Rogue blush.

“Remy?” Logan asked, and Rogue nodded.

“He could only get a flight in this mornin' or he would have been here already.”

“And who is Remy?”

Rogue laughed. “Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know that. Remy's my boyfriend. He lives down in New Orleans though. Comes to visit every once and awhile but I usually go down there instead. He doesn't like leavin' New Orleans.”

“I can't wait to meet him then.”

“To tell you the truth,” Rogue said, lowering her voice. “I'm thinking about movin' down there to be with him.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at that. “You'd leave here for this guy?”

She just nodded. “He's amazin', Logan. I never thought I'd ever meet a man like him. Or meet a man at all. Everyone seemed so unavailable to me because of my mutation. He doesn't care about that.”

Logan smiled at her. “I'm happy for you, kid. I really am. I just am somewhat surprised that you'd leave here.”

“I'd come back and visit,” Rogue said softly. “But sometimes I think it's about time I leave this place. I need to experience somethin' else.”

“I can understand that, more than you possibly think.”

“Logan.”

They looked up to see Jean walking towards them, and Rogue grinned when she saw the Santa hat in her hands. “You've got to wear that, Logan.”

Logan resisted rolling his eyes. “I am not wearing that.”

“Oh come on, we all are,” Jean said, holding the hat out to him. “It's a bit of fun.”

Logan kept his arms crossed against his chest. “I do not wear Santa hats.”

“You have every other year,” Rogue said, laughing at the look on Logan's face. “I get the feelin' that you were very different there than what you were here.”

“That sounds right,” Logan said, sighing heavily. “You really want me to wear that hat?”

“Yes,” Jean said, shaking the hat. “Come on.”

Logan stared at her for a moment before reaching out and taking the hat. He flipped it around in his hands before sighing heavily and putting it on. “I hate you for this.”

“No, you don't,” Jean said, laughing. “It's good to see you in the Christmas spirit, Logan. We were afraid last night that perhaps you weren't.”

“Jean,” Logan said sincerely, “so long as Christmases are like this, I think it is impossible for me not to be in the Christmas spirit. This is so wonderful I cannot even put it into words.”

“Rogue!” came Kitty's voice. “Gambit's here!”

“Gambit?” Logan asked.

“Remy's mutant name,” Rogue said, grinning. “I'll come introduce you to him in awhile, okay?”

Logan nodded and Rogue walked away. “This guy good for her?”

“Gambit? Yes. He's wonderful to her and he's a great guy on top of that,” Jean said, smiling. “You're very protective of her.”

“We have some history.”

“I'm not saying it as though it's a bad thing,” Jean pointed out. “We're all protective of her.”

“I suspect there's a story behind that. Maybe sometime someone can fill me in on it.”

“I would be glad to do that someday,” Jean said, her smile brightening when Scott walked up to them. “I got Logan to wear the hat, Scott.”

“I can see that,” Scott said, holding out his hand to Logan. “Merry Christmas, Logan.”

Logan took a breath before grasping Scott's hand. “Merry Christmas, Scott.”

“It's good to see you down here,” Scott said, pulling his hand back to grasp Jean's. “I think Bobby has finally pulled John away from the mistletoe, so it's time for our annual trip.”

Jean laughed and smiled at Logan as Scott started pulling her away. “I'll talk to you later, Logan.”

“Of course,” Logan said, the pain in his chest spiking quickly before fading away. Jean was alive and happy. That was all that mattered.

Logan stood there for a few minutes surveying the happiness that surrounded him before he heard the soft whirring come from behind him, stopping a second later by his side. “Hello, Charles.”

“Are you enjoying this Christmas, Logan?”

“More than I can put into words,” Logan said, turning to look at him. “It's wonderful.”

Charles spotted Scott and Jean under the mistletoe and nodded his head in their direction. “Even with that?”

“Even with that.”

“I'm glad to hear that,” Charles said, smiling at him. “I know that Christmas around here is more about the students than the teachers, but I quite enjoy these Christmases. I hope you learn to as well.”

“I am totally fine with Christmas being more about students then about me,” Logan said seriously. “Happy students are a big part of my perfect Christmas Day.”

“Is that so? And what else is part of this perfect Christmas Day?”

“Everything that's happening here today,” Logan admitted. “I don't think there is anything that can possibly happen today that will stop this day from being perfect. There's not a hint of fear. There's no Sentinels. Yeah, maybe everything isn't perfect and will go back to being that way tomorrow, but for today? Today is perfect.”

“Yes, I suppose to you it would be. I cannot even imagine, Logan. I saw part of it in your mind but I cannot even imagine.”

“Trust me. You don't want to.”

Charles watched as a big smile crossed Logan's face at the sight of children screaming loudly when the toy they were playing with did something particularly entertaining. “I know that I have lived the past fifty years that you have not, but I have never been happier that we succeeded than I am at seeing that smile on your face.”

“I wasn't anticipating this,” Logan said softly. “I don't know what I thought when I woke up here but it wasn't that I was going to experience this. And yes, it's hard to see some people, and yes, there's moments where I feel like I am back there again, and yes, I cannot believe that I'm here sometimes, but this is perfect, Charles. I cannot begin to tell you how perfect all of this is.”

“Professor!” came a chorus of children, and Charles nodded in their direction.

“Enjoy today, Logan,” Charles said as he started to move in their direction. “For you never know what tomorrow might bring.”

Logan watched him go before turning his gaze back to the room. He thought about Charles's words for a moment and decided that he was probably right. He was going to enjoy today and see what tomorrow brought. But whatever it was, it would be nothing like what he faced before, and therefore he would be able to face it easily.

But this Christmas was perfect. Absolutely perfect.


End file.
